San Antonians got a taste for what's to come when the Bake Bus, the Mellow Mushroom's mobile truck, served more than 300 slices of pie last Tuesday.

Ali Danesh, who's opening the restaurant with wife Setareh Danesh, is introducing the brand to the Stone Oak area. Danesh, who has been in the food industry for 25 years, says Mellow Mushroom will have something for everyone. The menu includes housemade hoagies, bruschetta, pretzels, artichoke dip, hummus, specialty pizzas, calzones and salads.

“We try to accommodate and serve great food in a fun and fresh atmosphere,” Danesh says. “I think we're delicious, and we're family-friendly.”

Danesh took some time from training and preparing for the restaurant's opening to talk about what customers new to the brand can expect.

Tell me about Mellow Mushroom.

Mellow Mushroom came to Texas almost six years ago. Dallas has seven locations and Houston opened its first one. (Our family has) been in the restaurant business for 25 years with fast-food restaurants like Domino's Pizza, Subways and Dunkin' Donuts. It's a concept that I've never seen. It's a relaxed atmosphere with quality. I've dealt with restaurants in the past, where it's all plastic and a very corporate attitude. But this is a group of people that really has their hearts into it, from the president to the trainers.

Everyone is trained seven-10 days. We go through eight hours of training every day and our bartenders go through at least 12 hours a day because we have so many specialty drinks.

Tell me a little about the pizza.

Everything's fresh. The dough comes in from Atlanta every day. We have practically nothing out of a can. Everything from our artichoke dip is made here, soups, it's all made here. The dough and the sauce are extremely special. We have a big group of followers.

What do you have as far as beer?

Our specialty is craft beer. We have 24 craft beers and more than 30 other beers, so more than 50 in total in bottles, cans or draft.

What else is on the menu?

We have salads, which are all made here. Soups, hoagies, but we're more famous for our pizza and beer. We're focusing on our specialty drinks as well.

How big is your team?

We've hired over 100 team members so far. The space is about 5,000 square feet and it seats up to 160 people including the bar. We had 10 coaches come in to train the staff.

What made you want to open Mellow Mushroom?

We wanted to move out of Tennessee. (San Antonio) started out as a coincidence, but I believe everything happens for a reason. We applied for a Dallas franchise, and Louisville, Ky., but somebody beat us to it. We decided to take a trip to San Antonio. I had only been once, but that was 25 years ago. We took a trip to Dallas and had three days, so we rented a car and decided to check it out. We drove in and I fell in love with the city. I loved the mix of culture here. I loved the mix of food, and the people are wonderful. I feel like I belong here already. My kids love it and go to school here. We already brought a house and sold our home in Tennessee. We better make it! (he laughs)

More Information

Mellow Mushroom

Opens 11 a.m. on Monday

115 N. Loop 1604 E. near Stone Oak Parkway

210-370-9219

facebook.com/mellowmushroomstoneoak

Who did all the artwork?

We have a local artist, Robert Tatum, who did our mural work on the walls. Our spaceship represents Houston, and we have a Lone Star. We have different parts of Texas all over the restaurant. Mel, the mushroom outside, was pieced together in several countries and brought specifically to San Antonio.